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Ali scored a TKO of Lenin Arroyo in his last fight (Photo by Augustine Dashiell, Plainfield Sports News).

Ali to Face Gary Bergeron at Prudential Center

Quickly moving up the welterweight rankings is former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali (9-0, 5 KOs), who will put his perfect record on the line Saturday when he faces Gary Bergeron (12-6, 7 KOs) on the Judah-Matthysse undercard at Prudential Center. The bout will already be the sixth of 2010 for Ali, in addition to being his fourth overall time fighting at the Newark arena.

“Everything’s good. I’ve been working hard for this fight,” Ali said of his training. “It’s great to have Main Events have me on, and HBO. I have the HBO executives’ eyes on me, and I’m ready to shine.”

The last time Ali got in the ring was for a dominating five round TKO over Lenin Arroyo in August on the Adamek-Grant bill, and he also put on a display when he knocked out Julias Edmonds in the third frame of a Friday Night Fights telecast on ESPN2. The latter bout was part of a card that was headlined by Zab Judah’s debut at Prudential Center, a third round knockout of Jose Armando Santa Cruz.

“We are very happy with Sadam’s progress as a pro and are very excited that he gets to showcase his talents at the Prudential Center in front of the HBO executives!” Anthony Catanzaro of Team Ali exclaimed.

With the TV cameras always near for his fights these days, Ali admits that the expectations are high, but it is not something that he allows to slow him when the bell rings.

“There’s a little pressure,” he said of performing in front of a TV audience. “Sometimes, you can be a little nervous, but it’s a good thing. It keeps me on point, and I’m ready to do my thing, to do what I do best. I’m really excited, and I’m ready to go. This is what I do.”

Ali is also becoming a regular at Prudential Center, which is quickly establishing itself as one of the top boxing venues in the country. Not only does he draw heavily from his native Brooklyn when he appears in Newark, but he also tends to leave each performance with more fans than he starts the evening.

“A lot of people come out, and a lot of people show support,” Ali remarked. “I’m an entertainer. Even if the fans don’t come out to watch me, they just end up cheering for me. That’s a good thing, and I like that.”

As far as his bout on Saturday is concerned, Ali says the best thing to expect is the unexpected.

“Expect different. Expect new things,” he predicted. “I don’t always bring the same thing. I have many different styles, so I don’t know what’s going to come out. I’m just going to adapt to what it is to win. It’s always exciting, and I’m ready to go.”

Tickets for this packed night of boxing, which gets started at 6:00 p.m., start at $53 and can be purchased today by calling TicketMaster at 800-745-3000 or visiting www.Prucenter.com.